Hype, Hope or Harm?
The Global Story of AI
The AI Perception Gap: Global Communications Perspectives
Developed in partnership with CARMA, this report explores how AI is being perceived, adopted and communicated across global markets. Combining media analysis, public opinion research and perspectives from IPREX member agencies, it highlights the trust, governance, regulatory and reputational issues shaping AI communications today.
CARMA is a global monitoring and research company. They help companies analyse earned media intelligence, social listening and public opinion, turning data into strategic insight through a combination of proprietary technology and expert consulting.
About the report
Hype, hope or harm? The Global Story of AI examines how artificial intelligence is framed in global media coverage, how audiences feel about its impact, and where perception gaps are emerging between public sentiment and organisational behaviour. The study draws on analysis of 12,000 articles across 37 markets, public opinion research with 6,300 respondents in 19 markets, and practitioner insight from IPREX members in 14 markets.
The findings show that AI is still largely framed through the lens of productivity and opportunity, but concern around control, misinformation, safety and human oversight is growing. Across the report, one message comes through clearly: the next phase of AI communications will depend less on hype and more on responsibility, transparency and trust.
Opportunity still leads
Global media still frames AI primarily as a productivity and efficiency story, even as scrutiny increases.
Trust now matters more
Audiences place high value on safety, misuse prevention, transparency and human oversight.
Capability is lagging adoption
Practitioners say many organisations are already using AI, but often without mature processes, governance or clear communications strategy.
AI in Practice: Insights from IPREX Members
To complement the study findings, IPREX member agencies shared what they are hearing directly from clients in their own markets. Their responses show that while AI adoption is widespread, execution remains uneven, and the communications challenges clients face are often operational and reputational rather than purely strategic.
Across markets, several themes recur: the need for stronger governance, clearer accountability, visible human oversight, better internal capability and more grounded communication about what AI can realistically deliver. At the same time, regional differences remain important, particularly in how trust, regulation and public sentiment shape the conversation.
AMERICAS
In the Americas, contributors describe a region where clients are often moving faster than the public, with strong interest in AI’s practical application and business value. That momentum is creating opportunities, but also exposing gaps in validation, governance, content quality and responsible use.
“Client reactions are mixed. Some are optimistic about the opportunity, while those in regulated sectors remain more cautious, particularly around data protection and fast-moving regulation.”
Beth Thompson — Gatesman, Pittsburgh, USA
“AI can help with ideation and speed, but it is not the equivalent of a human advisor. It does not replace the judgement, emotional understanding or cultural nuance that communications work requires.”
Lexie Savedge, APR — SalterMitchell PR, Florida, USA
““The greatest communications challenge we're seeing is the lack of critical thinking skills by some companies who are using AI to write content. They're simply putting in a prompt, receiving text back and passing that text along without critically editing and improving the AI output they receive.”
Josh Weiss — 10 to 1 Public Relations, Arizona, USA
“AI has not yet become a major communications topic for many clients in Mexico. Where it is used, the advice is simple: do not trust AI-generated content without fact-checking it.”
Horacio Loyo Gris — Dextera Comunicación, Mexico City, Mexico
“Clients are embracing AI in many operational areas, but communications use is still more informal. Our advice is to use AI in a ‘human sandwich’ — strong human prompts at the beginning, followed by close human review, editing and validation.”
Tom Eisbrenner — MBE Group, Michigan, USA
EMEA
Across EMEA, AI communications are strongly shaped by regulation, trust and accountability. Responses from the region reflect a more fragmented landscape, where enthusiasm is often tempered by governance demands, reputational risk and the need for more measured, evidence-based messaging.
“Sentiment feels split between opportunity and risk. There are obvious productivity and analysis benefits, but also fear of the unknown, which makes transparency and governance especially important.”
Marco Micheli — AURAI | Consulting, Italy
“Clients are trying to understand how to use AI and know it will be important for the future, while the public remains more cautious about privacy, democracy, misinformation and the risk of replacing human roles. Communications must keep the personal, human touch.”
Mania Xenou — Reliant, Greece
“The most common communications challenge appears to be balancing growing organisational interest in AI with low trust and ongoing concerns around risk.”
Caroline Heywood — Walsh, Ireland
“Clients are somewhat more cautious than the public. The EU AI Act and GDPR are major influences, reinforcing the need for transparency, monitoring and strong human oversight.”
Jakub Zajdel — more communications agency, Poland
“Clients are highly interested in what AI can do for their business and their marketing communications, but poor-quality AI content quickly disengages audiences and destroys value. Strong human oversight is needed to ensure quality and build stakeholder confidence.”
Jonathan Saatchi — MC2, UK
“In the UAE, AI is not a future debate but a current direction. The real challenge is no longer adoption, but ensuring authenticity, oversight and internal clarity keep pace with the enthusiasm surrounding it.”
Pradeep Kumar — Watermelon Communications, Dubai, UAE
APAC
Across APAC, contributors describe a more pragmatic, value-led conversation around AI. In many markets, adoption is progressing with caution, and communications work best when they emphasise usefulness, human judgement, credibility and responsible implementation over hype.
“Client and public sentiment are broadly aligned, but regulatory uncertainty remains a key challenge. That is why transparency and governance need to lead the conversation.”
Anu Gupta — APRW, Singapore
“Client opinion often comes down to education and familiarity. Privacy is a major concern, and AI should remain a support tool rather than a substitute for original thinking or unchecked content creation.”
Nicole Reaney— InsideOut Public Relations, Australia
“In India, communication around AI needs to stay grounded in real use cases, clear outcomes and responsible use. Acceptance is driven by relevance and impact, not broad intent or positioning alone.”
Naina Aggarwal — Talking Point Communications, India